The Pain of Heartbreak
by HaruhixKyon
Summary: Bella has a rare condition called CIPA, making her unable to feel pain. When Renee is declared unfit to take care of her, Bella is sent to the hospital in Forks, where they have a special wing for people with CIPA. This is where she meets Edward Cullen.AH
1. Not Quite Pain

**AN: Hey, I'm dishing out this new story! I've been playing around with the idea since this afternoon, and now I'm typing it out. Hope you like it! Oh yeah, and CIPA is a real condition. I got all my information from the internet, and if you are POSITIVE (no, 'I think you got this part wrong's...) that I misinterperated, or portrayed something relating to CIPA incorrectly, then please tell me in a review or PM me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight-related here. I'm just borrowing for your entertainment.**

Bella's eyes flew open at the ringing of her alarm clock, and she sat up immidiantly, her breathing ragged. She reached up to feel her forhead. Well, maybe feeling was your definition for seeing if there was any change in temperature. But for Isabella Marie Swan, it was solely to check if she could feel it at all. Yes, there was the texture. Never the difference between hot and cold, though. She grabbed the thermometer from her bedside drawer and stuck it in her mouth for fifteen seconds. Ninety eight degrees farenheight, it read. Darn it. She had reminded her mother _again_ not to put too many covers on her. The maternal instinct had apparently been too strong to let Renee overlook the detail that her daughter would only accept one blanket.

Sighing, the aformentioned daughter got out of bed and went straight for the full length mirror in her bedroom. Eyes? Check. Wrists? Check. Lips? Check.... Besides the normal signs of scratching, there was no blood or any other sign of injury. Bella breathed a sigh of relief at that. Good, very good.

She glanced over at the handwritten letter her mother had left on her dresser. Doctor Carlisle Cullen. Specializing in people with her condition, traveling all over the world to help them cope and live with it. But Bella had to wonder about this man's morals. After all, how could you specialize in something that less than one hundred people worldwide had?

Maybe he had done a paper or two on it in collage. More than anyone else had cared, that was for sure. Most didn't even know her 'condition' existed. But apparently this doctor did, and a few weeks ago he had sent her a personal letter inviting her to stay at the hospital in some rainy little town, because she was still so unstable with it. Also because it had been declared by the court that her mother wasn't fit to handle a child with CIPA, or Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis. Bella's inability to feel pain, heat, or cold.

When she was little, her elementary school teachers could individually make sure she didn't harm herself. The lunchlady took care to put ice in her chili, so that Bella wouldn't burn her tounge unknowingly. Her teachers rounded all sharp points in the classroom and made sure she never got ahold of scissors. She wasn't even aloud to participate in PE because she wouldn't be able to feel when her muscles were strained, so they were at risk for tearing. Over the years, Bella moved up in grade levels, and there were so many more students in middle and high school, that no one had time to focus on the girl with the problems. Bella became solely her mother's responsibility. It was just too much for Renee to handle all on her own without any help. And after the last time Bella had nearly scratched her eye out, she was officially forced to move to the hospital in Forks, Washington in order to stay there with five other patients. All of them unstable with their CIPA.

The letter from Dr. Cullen must have just been something to make Bella feel like she actually had a choice.

**(( At this point, I stopped to go outside and play in the inch and a half of snow. I live in Texas, so this is a REALLY big deal. (: It'll be gone by tomorrow morning, I suspect. But this is the first time I've actually seen snow **_**falling.**_** ))**

Bella glanced over at her suitcase with some distaste before throwing some clothes on and going to meet her mother downstairs. As Renee drove her to the airport, Bella watched out the window silently, listening to Renee's sobs and bidding her goodbyes to the Sun--and Pheonix--until she might one day see it again. And she planned on doing so, as soon as she turned eighteen and would be free unless the court declared again that she had to stay in the hospital. That might just be the day she threw herself off of a cliff. _To get away from the pain of the world, _Bella thought to herself, only half-amused by the irony.

**OOOoooOOOoooOOOooo**

Bella listened to the loud clattering of the automatic doors as they swung open to reveal the comfy waiting room of Forks General Hospital. The nice-looking nurse at the reception desk looked up. She had warm eyes and caramel colored hair.

"Hello there, you must be Isabella Swan. It's nice to meet you. I'm Esme, Dr. Cullen's wife." She said, coming from around the counter and pulling Bella into a hug. This would be odd coming from any other stranger, but with Esme it felt natural. Like getting a hug from your mom, almost.

When Esme pulled away, she pointed to a hallway that was unmarked, unlike the other ones with labels like 'Emergency Room,' 'Recovery Unit,' and such. Bella couldn't help but wonder how such a small town had enough people getting injured to have such a fancy hospital. Or, at least, it looked large from the outside.

As she went down the hallway alone, she eventually came out onto a room that was completely surrounded by windows. There was a blooming garden in the middle, cream and coffee-colored chairs and couches, as well as an entertainment area in one corner, with a plasma screen television and every gaming system imaginable.

"Impressed? Carlisle payed for everything with his own money." Came a small voice from behind her, and Bella spun around to meet the gaze of a small, pixie-like girl with a stylish outfit and cropped, spikey black hair.

"Alice." She said, holding out her hand to shake. Bella took it, noting the way the girl was bouncing with hyperness.

"Bella. Erm...are you...?" She trailed off, a bright blush tainting her cheeks. She had no idea how to put this.

"CIPA? Yup. I'll introduce you to the others, if you want. Most of them are off in their rooms right now." Bella found it strange how Alice said 'CIPA' like it was a word, sounding out the letters. It came off like 'Kippah,' kind of.

Alice took her to a hall leading off from there, which had a dead end, if that's what you considered the bathrooms and waterfountains at the finish, with nothing beyond that. Other than that, there were ten doors available to choose from. First, Alice showed me the Library, a small room with plenty of medical journals as well as novels and textbooks. Then the Dining Room, the main feature of which was a long dining table, already set for eight. After that she started showing me to the other patient's rooms.

"This is Rosalie and Emmett's room!" Alice proclaimed, swinging the door open without any courtesy to the owners. A deep blush flooded Bella's cheeks when she saw two people making out on the one king sized bed in the middle of the room. It was getting pretty heavy. "Erm...well, you'll meet them at dinner, I guess. Moving on!" Alice added in a cheerful tone, noting Bella's nervousness and taking pity on her instead of breaking the couple apart long enough for an introduction.

"Me and Jasper's room." The next door's opening revealed a neat bedroom, and a blonde guy reading a book while laying sideways on it. He looked....in pain? Not possible for someone with 'Kippah,' but that was just the way his expression twisted. Jasper glanced up at Bella but didn't smile, lifting his hand in a little wave. Alice blew him an air kiss before closing the door. "He looks unwelcoming, but he is actually really sweet and thoughtful. Plus, the fact he's really great in bed isn't so bad..." Alice once more noticed Bella's blush and cut herself off. She wondered how this mysterious 'Dr. Cullen' could allow his patients to share rooms, much more how he might know what they were _doing_ in there.

"And last, but not least, Edward Cullen's cave." Bella looked confused for a moment at his last name, making Alice sigh with annoyance. "He's Carlisle's son. Edward is the reason he got interested in helping unstable CIPA's in the first place." She said with a slight nod toward the door knob.

Bella got the message and slowly rested her hand on it, almost scared to turn it. But before she could, the door opened with such force that Bella's arm nearly got dislocated, and something slammed into her slightly small body, sending her falling backwards. She hit her head with a loud bang on the tile, but didn't feel the pain at all, even after everything went dark.

The last thing she caught sight of was a pair of bright green orbs that sent her heart flying.

**AN: How did you like it? In your review, tell me if I should trash it or keep going!**


	2. Feeling a Crush

Darkness.

Bella had never particurally cared for it. Not that she was afraid or anything. It was the only time she felt almost...normal. Feeling pain while unconcious wasn't average. She was just like the general population on that front.

But this darkness...it was different. Peaceful.

She slipped in and out of it's grasp, catching glimpses of the familiar florescent lights that lighted hospitals everywhere. But just when she thought she was going to awaken, the darkness pulled her back under. Into the seductive, almost inescapable, hold.

Sometimes when she was free for a few seconds, she would catch glimpses of those green eyes. Usually filled with worry, sometimes humor or anger.

When Bella finally awoke, she would be a liar if she said that her head was throbbing from being unconcious for so long. Obviously, that would have been impossible. Well, actually, it might be happening. But actually feeling it was the thing that was out of Bella's reach.

"Wha--" She murmered, still sleepy as she sat up. Ugh...dizziness.

A handsome young man with blonde hair and a worried gaze--not incuding the green eyes she had come to think of as maybe some sort of dream--smiled at her from an armchair that was pulled up to the side of the...cot, was it? Well, it at least it seemed similar those uncomfortable hospital beds that felt like cardboard.

"Edward knocked you over on accident. He's been so worried..." Said the man, motioning over to the cot next to her.

The first thing Bella noticed was pale fingers clutching her hand gently. Her eyes traveled up the arm to shoulders and a shirt-covered chest, both muscular but not in a way that was too much. Still lean. Finally, she found her gaze on the face of an sleeping angel. No exageration. He was gorgeous, with messy bronze hair and a peaceful expression. There was a slight bit of stubble on his chin, showing he hadn't shaved for a few days, and his lips were slightly parted with even breathing both being trapped and making their escape from him. A thought occured to Bella then.

_Had he fallen asleep worrying about her?_

Definetly something to ask him later. Assuming he wanted to speak with her, of course. Bella could already feel a little crush forming as her heart raced in her chest. It was just her low self-esteem that made her doubt he would like her.

"That's...Edward?" She didn't avert her eyes from him, not even to look over at the lab-coat clad blond man.

"Yup. I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen, by the way. His father. Isabella?" Oh! Bella's curiosity got the better of her and she looked over to the Doctor. "Call me Bella." She replied with as much of a smile as she could manage when she wasn't watching Edward.

Doctor Cullen nodded slightly. "Good, you remember. That's quite a fall you took. Out like a light for two whole days. I did some tests while you were asleep. You should be fine, but I still need to check some stuff out now." He held up a little flashlight, shining the beam in both of her eyes. Bella didn't even blink or flinch. The doctor bid her good bye for dinner a little while later, leaving her alone with that god-like creature. Yes, he had been promoted from angel now, in her mind.

She was perfectly content with just staring at him for an hour and a half, memorizing every feature about him and supplying herself with fantasies to pass the time. It took awhile, but finally his form stirred slightly. Then, he suddenly sat up, eyes wide and meeting her gaze with surprise and relief.

His green eyes sent her heart racing, if it had ever calmed down in the first place.

"You're awake, thank God." He said with a sigh, releasing his death grip on her hand. The tingles that had been running up and down Bella's arms cried out in protest, but she ignored them with much effort. "I thought I had killed our new patient. Would've left an extra room for me to use..." He added, to himself. Edward wouldn't admit it, even to himself, but this girl had interested him in his two days at her bedside. As well as puzzled him to no end. He noted the subtle changes in her expression; the way the corners of her mouth twitched when he spoke, as well as how the chocolate brown depths of her eyes alternated between twinkling with curiosity and flashing confusion. Did she have Mania as well as CIPA?

Bella's reaction to his words was at first shock. But when she got over that she launched into yelling. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! DO YOU THINK ITS OKAY TO WISH SOMEONE WAS DEAD _RIGHT IN FRONT OF THAT PERSON??!!_" She demanded to know angrilly, yanking the blankets off of her. First she did a mental scan, seeing that her vision was okay and Edward wasn't pointing out that she was bleeding. Probobly fine.

That fact didn't make her any less angry, by chance.

"You seriously need to get an attitude change. Do you think because your some pampered rich kid with problems puts you on a golden pedestal?! Let me tell you now, the real world doesn't work that way!!" She snapped her words deliberately, though she was hurt on the inside. But that was an emotion Bella refused to let show.

She wanted no weaknesses available to the pleasure viewing of this arrogant teenager who had seemed to have captured her heart. Without much effort, she might add.

But how was she supposed to figure out he had such a sour personality?!

Well, it was a clinic for _unstable_ CIPAs.

That was when Bella decided officially that she was going to change him. Find the nice person somewhere deep inside him.

Break the shell.

**OOOoooOOOoooOOO**

**AN: This one's shorter than the last. But I thought it was well deserved after reading all those nice comments. I promise to have the next chapter up within the next two or three days. Who knows? Maybe I'll even get it done today. I think this chappie is crap, and I might rewrite it. I just wanted to get it across what Bella's goal would be, and how Edward was a cold, secluded, and arrogant person. Kind of like in Twilight, but alot worse.**

**Don't worry Team Edward fans! He'll get better, I promise!**

**Please review!**


	3. A Small Crack

**AN: I usually don't do this, but I'd like to thank a few of my reviewers:**

**gaap237: You really got me thinking about twists to make this more interesting!! And yeah...well, I'm stealing your idea, sorry 'bout that.**

**Kathy247: Best. Review. Ever. 'Nuff said.**

**Barbiegurl676: Wow, not many people are interested in CIPA. I mean, obviously I have some sort of obsession over it, (-cough- And Twilight) but its nice to know other people know it exists. By the way, I'm not good at doing the vampire Cullens, because, for me, perfection is hard to portray without getting a call from Stephenie Meyer's publisher to yell at me for copyright infrigment. I'm working on it, though.**

**RachxSaxophonexTwilight: I thank you for being the best person on this site. Also because you read my teacherxstudent original story and laughed because you thought it was funny. Oh, and because you actually are going to update Saxophone Love!!**

**So in this chapter I'm mostly going to set the stage for many a twist, and also go more into the details about CIPA. Okay, now on with the actual story, because I'm sure you don't want to hear me blab anymore!**

**oooOOOoooOOOooo**

Edward left in a sour mood, mumbling something about dying of hunger. Quite the pathetic excuse, but whatever floated his boat.

Dinner went fairly well, and Bella got to know everyone better. Esme was a darling, Rosalie was...well, a bit bitter about a new person moving in, and Emmett was just as cheerful as apple pie. She didn't know exactly how cheerful an inanimate object could be, but that was just something her mother used to say.

After the meal, when everyone was just lounging about, Dr. Cullen came rushing in and almost tripped on Bella's one bag, still right in the middle of the walkway.

"Sorry I missed dinner...Miss Beldrum's surgery..." He took a minute to regain his breath and compose himself. Bella saw people snickering out of the corners of her eyes, set aside Edward, of course. Who simply wore his unreadable expression on those god-like features. Apparently, this wasn't how the doctor usually acted. The sudden abrupt change in her thoughts from Carlisle's attitude, to Edward's looks, and quickly back to Carlisle's attite was intentional. For she did not want to work up a blush right now.

"Oh, yes. Bella, was it? A pretty nickname, I might add. We will have to clear out one of the rooms for you to sleep in, seeing as they're all currently in use. Until then, I'm afraid you will have to share with Edward." He said, sounding apologetic. But his tone was completely lost on the two new roomies, who were both quite aware of the fact that not only they were of different genders, but that Edward seemed to hate Bella with a passion, the way she looked at it. The same could not be said for the aformentioned female of the two.

"But Carlisle--" Edward started as both of them lept to their feet at the same time, twin looks of horror on their expressions.

Carlisle shrugged like it was out of his control. "I'm sorry, Edward. But as soon as we can figure out where to put the stuff in that storage room next to yours, you two will have to cope. Don't worry, I put up a curtain between the two halves, so you'll be fine. And there was already an empty bed there..." he trailed off when he noticed that the kids weren't listening to him anymore, simply fixing eachother with a glare.

"You will not touch my side, not look at my side, _not think about my side._" Edward layed down the law right there, not dropping his gaze. He wanted to win this little contest against this ever-so frustraiting girl. In just a few short days, **(Remember the time she was unconcious, people!)** she had managed to make his every thought revolve around her. He hardly knew the stupid girl!! And yet, this somehow only made him think about her more. Edward _wanted_ to get to know Bella.

Bella smirked, though her eyes were still shining with a firey gaze that oozed annoyance. "All I ask of you is that you don't watch when I'm changing. _I know its tempting, but please __**attempt**__ to refrain yourself._" What an ignorant girl! In just seconds, Edward had crossed the room at a quick speed and had his face inches from hers. This sent Bella's heart into a frenzy, beating so loud she was almost sure he could hear it. "Don't worry, there's nothing I have any desire to see. No offence..." He glanced down once at her chest before returning his gaze to her face, a bright shade of red now. His eyes were boring into hers, the seductive undertone not lost to Bella's attention.

Of course, it was simpy expected that something was to ruin the moment.

That would be Bella's watch, beeping because it was exactly ten o'clock. Bathroom time.

She breathed a sigh, finally breaking her gaze from Edward's and brushing past him on her way to the restroom at the end of the hallway off of the main room.

**oooOOOoooOOOooo**

Bella had avoided Edward for the next hour and a half, favoring the company of jumpy Alice, who had simply insisted to know why she had blushed as red as hot chili peppers when she heard Edward's voice.

When Esme came in from her shift, telling everyone it was time to go to sleep, Bella's mood alternated between sour and excited as she half ran to her new room, curls bouncing. Excited to be sleeping within some distance of Edward tonight. Sour because he would probobly make fun of her.

She tripped over something invisible, falling forward with a yelp. In the milliseconds she had, she threw her arms in front of her face out of insinct. But she felt strong fingers wrap around her forarms from behind and bring her descent to a stop.

Bella was lifted up, and she met the gaze of the one and only Edward Cullen.

"I-I thought y-you were in t-the room." She stammered, blushing. He have her a crooked grin, "So its now refered to as 't-the room' instead of 'E-edward's room'?" He questioned smugly before releacing her from his grasp and motioning for her to follow her into their newly shared room.

"Oh, wait. While we're going for irony..." He lifted her up bridal style and kicked open the door with one foot, Bella laughing and squealing the whole way noq. He threw her on the bed, pinning her down. "You are quite the frustraiting girl, you know that?" He growled playfully.

Bella didn't even mind his words, for she was just so happy his mood was so much different from earlier. Light, joking even. She wondered if he had Multiple Personality Disorder or something of that sort.

Alice burst into the room right at that moment. "Oh, Bella! I have something I forgot to..." She called in a sing-song voice before it registered in her mind the position we were in. "Erm...well, I'm sorry for interrupting. You two keep having fun!" She said in an awkwardly cheerful tone now, slowly backing back into the hall and closing the door loudly behind her.

Bella's cheeks were flushed a brilliant shade of red, and Edward was off of her in a flash, retreating to his bed on the other side of a large curtain. She had no idea what his side looked like, but hers was pretty dull and lifeless. She made a note to herself that she would have to ask Esme for some paint. Just to distract herself from the god only a few short yards away from her.

**oooOOOoooOOOooo**

Edward didn't breath one word to Bella the rest of the night, not even glancing in her direction. Eventually, Bella fell into a fretful sleep.

_"No! Don't leave me! Please..." Dream-Bella shouted in distress, reaching out her hand to grasp at the darkness._

_"Edward..." She choked on her own breath at the word, feeling a terrible ache in her chest. Like a fire, it seemed to spread, immobalizing her and multiplying the pain which she had never felt before. Wasn't used to. She cried out, wanting to claw at her chest and rip out the source of her agony, but she could not even twitch. "Edward..." Her voice was much weaker this time. She was dying. Dying because she was heartbroken._

_The pain of heartbreak was...physical._

Bella's eyes flew open from her dream with a yelp, but she was silenced by the feeling of strong arms wrapping around her.

"Shh. Just a dream." Edward murmered tiredly from her side, looking half-asleep himself. The bed hardly fit the two of them. She was surprised he had come over here, but not angry. She curled up close to him, like a kitten sleeping beside a Saint Bernard.

Bella soon drifted to sleep, her last concious thought being this:

_Cracked the shell a bit...he'll probobly return to normal tomarrow, though..._

Not a pleasing thought to her.

**oooOOOoooOOOooo**

**AN: A fairly long chapter just for you awsome reviewers!! Please excuse any spelling mistakes. REALLY LATE.**


	4. Caught Red Handed

**AN: Wow, more than a week without updating. You must think I died or something, since I seem to be obsessed with typing up new chapters. Speaking of which, here's a new one! But...I guess you totally saw that coming. I'd like to celebrate my full 1248 HITS!! Unfortuanetly, that only left me with twenty eight reviewers. If you are one of those, I LOVE YOU!! If you're not...well, just imagine me glaring at you now. (Not Really.) Oh, and I'm also celebrating the Twilight movie CD. Because I just got it. Over a month after it came out. I'm so pathetic!**

**Okay, now on with the story!**

**OOOoooOOOoooOOO**

Over the weekend, Bella got quite used to Edward's strange mood changes. The way he switched from warm to cold, laughing to frowning, cheerful to grimacing...it was all old news to her now. She was feeling pretty much on top of the world until Sunday afternoon, when Carlisle suddenly stood up in the middle of dinner.

"It was a lovely meal." He said with a nod toward Esme, who blushed deeply and averted her gaze quickly from her husband's **(( I know that's so ooc, BUT IT WAS JUST TOO ADORABLE AND FLUFFY **_**NOT**_** TO ADD IN!! ))**. Personally, Bella saw that compliment as him warming up everyone's hearts before giving them the bad news. But she could have been wrong.

Carlisle cleared his throat, and started what he had been intending to say. "As you all know, Summer is ending and Autumn is beginning. This means you will all have to go to school, seeing as the state requires it. Well..." a pause "...after Edward's last _stunt_,Forks High School refuses to admit any more CIPA patients." This was met with several groans and multiple glares at Edward. Bella simply glanced at him oddly, a questioning gaze in her eyes that made him look away out of...shame, almost? She decided to ask Alice about it later.

"So you will all be attending Our Lady of the Lake private school until we can find a less expensive place. Preferably public, but Forks High has called in about you kids to every high school within a hundred mile radius of here." He shrugged, like this was out of his hands. It was obvious the doctor expected a negative reaction to this, but what he got was far from that.

"Oh. My. Gawd. I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO WEAR A CUTE ADORABLE LITTLE SCHOOL GIRL UNIFORM AND COSTOMIZE IT WITH TOTALLY AWESOME ACCESSORIES!!" Alice exclaimed loudly, her dark eyes sparkling with the mere thought.

"YAY! I CAN SEE GIRLS IN SHORT UNIFORM SKIR--OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR, ROSE?! YOU KNOW I WAS JUST KIDDING!" Emmet cried out, which had, as shown, earned Rose the rights to hit him upside the head. Hard. But, of course, Emmet couldn't actually feel a thing. It was all just something--an act, if you will-- to lighten the mood.

Jasper just looked horrified for a split second at the thought of going to a private school with all the supposed 'drama,' but then his expression returned to that of pain once more.

Edward, meanwhile, was still looking ashamed but other than that, he appeared more or less indifferent to the change.

Bella had never been to Forks High, so she wasn't really sad at all about not going there. But the thought of walking around in a skirt...and those quarter to half inch heals she would surely have to wear...it sent shivers down her spine. The heels were not _too_ tall, but this was the least coordinated person in the universe we were talking about.

"Oh, and we're also getting a new patient tomorrow morning, right before you guys leave for your first day. He'll be going with you..." Carlisle trailed off, looking like he was contemplating wether to tell them something important or not. he apparently decided against it, as he sat down and continued eating normally.

Bella wondered on this new patient for a bit but finally gave up, halfway deciding that she didn't really care, and continued stuffing her face with salad.

"That's not very lady-like of you." Edward took it upon himself to point that out. She looked at him in all his mannered glory and stuck her tounge out at him. Chewed up spinich and all.

"Nor is that." He added in an amused tone, picking up his fork carefully. "Like this, see?" He gently stabbed a cucumber, like it had feelings or something. Bella tried to be annoyed, but failed, just because he looked so amazing and elegant, she couldn't help but be awed.

"Um...Bella?" The voice seemed foreign in her dream world of which only consisted of her and Edward. The tiny hand that was waved in front of her eyes shattered it, and she looked startled to find Alice being the owner of both the hand and the voice. She was clearly irritated, but at the same time slightly intrugued. "Were you staring at Edward?" The pixie-like girl asked with some measure of disbelief and excitement.

Bella shrugged helplessly in reply, as if to say "maybe," and picked up her half-finished plate, leaving the table quite rudely in favor of doing the dishes.

She breathed a sigh once safely alone in the kitchen, surrounded by the neat piles of dishes from their earlier meals. She carefully started to wet them and set them in the dishwasher, but all too soon her mind was wandering to different places.

Had Edward noticed her staring?

Did he like her as much as she liked him?

She really didn't know all that much about him...

His quick changes in personality were strange....but somehow interesting and compelling at the same time.

Completely lost in thought, Bella didn't notice the sharper edge of the kitchen knife she was currently cleaning digging into her palm. No, she wouldn't have been able to. So all it did was dig deeper and deeper until the sound of the kitchen door swinging open made her drop the potential weapon. The clatter as it fell to the sink was deafening in the silence as Edward, the one who had just entered, watched her carefully. His gaze traveled downward until it landed upon her hand. Bella, surprised at his actions, looked down herself, a small gasp escaping when she saw the crismon blood. It was running from a deep cut on her palm and had twisted itself and wrung to the point where every few seconds, a drop seperated itself from its binds and left a small spatter on the ground. The sight of the blood made her head light, and before she could catch herself, she fell to the hard tile, her eyes fluttering shut and her heart slowing to a near stop.

Fainted.

**oooOOOoooOOOooo**

**AN: Sorry for the half-cliffhanger. Please review, it makes me so happy!**


	5. Be Safe

**AN: Yay! I got Open Office!! You know what that means? Spell check for once in my life! Oh, and I also got the font used on the cover of Twilight. May I just type it a few times with that font just to squeal? Twilight twilight twilight twilight twilight twilight twilight. So flipping awesome! You peoples must search for it! I know it won't show up here, but whatever. Still awesome.**

**On another note, please vote on my poll!**

Edward was shocked for a split-second, but rushed forward to break her fall, just inches from the hard tile. He cursed, wondering how someone so darn fragile could get into situations like this. Was she God's joke? A way to make fun of the world? Making a clumsy girl who couldn't feel the pain....it was awful. She would have no idea when she was hurt!

He scooped her up in his arms carefully, not caring about muscle strain. All he wanted was to get her to Carlisle. As they were leaving the kitchen, Bella stirred in his arms. "E-Edward?" At first she appeared hazy, but then snapped to attention. Oh crap! Her hand...then Edward...was he....her thoughts were just one big jumbled up mess. "Shh. Just calm down and close your eyes." He murmured lowly, and Bella was happy to comply. She relaxed in his arms, not even paying her hand any attention. All the rooms and doors they passed looked the same, and she was just vaguely aware that they had left the CIPA wing and were going at a fast pace down the hall to the hospital's waiting room.

"ESME!!!" Edward's beautiful voice rang like a song in her ears, though it had a tone of alarm in it. Esme immediately looked up from the reception desk with worry. "Oh, dear, get her to room six, Carlisle should be with her shortly." Now, if this was just any old hospital, the waiting room would suddenly become loud from complaints of people who were waiting their turn. But this was The _Forks_ General, so there was no one really in the waiting room set aside a worried looking mother. The actual hospital section had twelve rooms, and two patients currently, not including their newest disaster: Bella. One was just a kid who had broken his arm, the other was one of the more elderly men in the community whom was complaining of back pains. So no one was put down, because the hospital could've bulldozed down a few rooms and still have had enough room for their patients.

Bella was silent as they quickly rushed her to the room, and she was laid carefully on the bed. Mm....it felt actually nice. Not stiff. Esme had gone to get Carlisle, and so that just left her alone. In a dark room. With a god sitting at her bedside. _Darkness, Gods, and bleeding hands, oh my! _Her thoughts were wry.

"Do you enjoy hurting yourself?" Edward asked, apparently a tad angry.

"It was an accident!" She couldn't help but protest loudly.

"Sure, right, like you didn't happen to look down and notice you were _bleeding to death_!!"

"You're such a drama queen! Let me ask you something, why do your emotions keep freakin' changing so much?!?!" Bella was not the best potty mouth.

"Its none of your business!!!!!!"

"I THINK I DESERVE AN EXPLANATION!!!" Unconsciously, her voice had been raising.

"YOU DON'T _DESERVE _SQUAT, YOU ANNOYING, SELF-CENTERED, DANGER PRONE, BITCH!!!" Edward realized what he had said only after it was too late. Bella blinked once as tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill over. She yanked the blanket over her head and curled into a ball facing away from him.

"Bella, I'm sorry. Look, I didn't mean it, you're far from any of those things and--" His explanation was promptly cut off by her.

"Get. Out. Or so help me Edward Cullen, you are a _dead man_." She snapped, her voice muffle by the blanket but still clearly choked with tears.

**OOOoooOOOoooOOO**

**I almost ended it there, but I love you guys too much!!**

**OOOoooOOOoooOOO**

Edward was silent for the next fifteen minutes, listening to her sobs and not attempting to quiet them. He'd only tried once, and now he had a bright red print on his cheek in the shape of Bella's hand. But he still didn't leave. He was too worried about her.

"Bella..." He murmured once the room was silent except for the annoying tick of the clock.

"I thought I told you to get out!!" She exclaimed, sitting up and throwing the comforter off of herself. She was a mess, here brow locks tangled, the chocolate depths of her eyes puffy, her clothes wrinkled...but, to be honest, Edward had never thought someone could look so beautiful. It was so unlike him...usually, he did not think any girls were even "good-looking". But here was a strange girl, who had managed to capture his heart in only a few short days. He hardly knew her, but the thing was, _he wanted to_. So badly it was almost a physical pain in his chest.

"You did..." He started lamely, unsure of what to say exactly.

"Well, why aren't you?!" Who was he kidding? She wouldn't love him, never could. She must have thought him just one big train wreck. Or, at best, one just waiting to happen.

"I will." He stated, getting up and heading toward the door.

The last words he uttered before leaving the room were imprinted into Bella's heart like a brand.

"Be safe."

**AN: Aw! Now isn't that sweet! I absolutely cannot believe I'm updating less that twenty four hours after the last chapter, but this is kind of make up for not putting up anything new for more than a month. I am reminding you again, PLEASE VOTE ON MY POLL!! I know this chapter is a little shorter than the last, but don't hate me for it! DX DX**


	6. Counting Seconds

**AN: I hate to say this, but I'm a slight bit angry with you guys. Why, oh why, of all your choices on my poll, did the winning one have to be the one I had no plan of what to do (except that the ending would be totally depressing, but you aren't getting any insight to that) and thought of IN THE SHOWER?!?! At first, I was blaming fate....but then I realized who's fault it was. So, if you voted for that, I'm a tad ticked off. Well, I used to be. But not anymore, apparently, because, regardless of my imaginary-flight-attendant-Bella-infused anger, I got up the guts to type up a new chapter. Enjoy. Or die. -glares- Oh, and I was writing this and listening to music at the same time, right? So the official song for the last chapter was "Pretty Girl" by Sugar Cult.**

**Please continue voting on my poll if you haven't already!!**

"Explain it to her."

Those were the first words out of Jasper's mouth when he took in his friend's appearance. Edward was a mess, truly, by all definitions of the word. He had stalked back to the CIPA wing and collapsed onto one of the couches, his face in his hands and trembling slightly like he was refraining from tearing the innocent pillow nearby in two.. Jasper, being somehow inhumanly gifted with emotions, could easily put two and two together: Edward's sudden bounce back into personal solitary confinement plus the fact he wasn't giving any sarcastic remarks. The outcome was four no matter what the circumstances. Either he had said something to their latest patient, or she had said something to him, and that 'something' had hit home. Everyone had noticed, of course, the way Edward's little depressing bubble dissolved slightly when Bella strode casually into the room. The way he fought with her, but always seemed to be fighting back a goofy grin. It all added up to make clear he had feelings for the girl, if not only a mere crush. Jasper shook his head to himself, deciding he had taken the math metaphors to a level that could only be described as 'you need to belong in a mental hospital'. Well, all of them already had the 'hospital' part down.

Edward looked up, an unfamiliar expression on his features. "I will...but...its no excuse. I can still control how I feel. I called her an annoying, self-centered, danger-prone bitch." Ah, the truth came out. And Jasper winced at it. No actual pain. Just an act. "That bad, huh?" Edward nodded slightly in reply, giving no more verbal explanation.

"It doesn't change anything. You should still tell her." Jasper pointed out after a full one hundred and twenty seven seconds of silence. With Edward, it was a habit to time his pauses. Just a joke between them all. 'Who could get Edward to pause the longest?' But this was no game. Jasper knew very well that when it concerned this Bella girl, Edward might go mute. Or commit suicide.

Was it possible that the latest patient was doing Edward more harm than good? If so, what would Carlisle do? Would he choose Bella to stay, over his own son?

Edward sighed with no other reply once more, this time enabling Jasper to leave him alone. All the while counting the seconds. To what? Nobody would be able to tell. Maybe until Edward spoke. Maybe until Edward finally snapped and did something so stupid, it might end his life or that of those around him.

Bella would just have to stay for now. They would all see soon if she helped him any, or, more unsettling, pushed him over the edge.

**OOOoooOOOoooOOO**

The silence was maddening to those around Bella. But she couldn't help it. Everyone was casting her cautious, weary glances now just because she wasn't in the talking mood! Carlisle had been the first, when he noticed she didn't speak and darted out the door as soon as he was done bandaging up her arm. If he had expected cheers at the sentence 'You're not going to need stitches, at least!', he did not get any. Esme and the lady in the waiting room also took note of her blank expression and cast worried glances at each other. Alice was a chatterbox, determined to find out what went wrong.

Finally, Bella couldn't take it anymore, and headed to her room. She retorted to unpacking her things, and was doing it more or less happily until the very object of her frustration, confusion, and depression came in - without knocking, she might add - and even had the nerve to look shocked when he saw her there.

"Erm...look, Bella, I'm really, really sorry..." Edward Cullen started lamely, running his hand through his hair.

She chewed on her soft lower lip for a second - one of the most tantalizing things Edward had to admit to ever laying his eyes upon - before gracing him with what she had decided was a decent enough answer. Well, question, really.

"About coming in here when I'm so obviously busy?" If Edward had had any urge to point out that this was his room as well, she commended him mentally for quashing it.

"No...about what I said. Look, you're none of those things, I was just mad and - " Bella promptly cut him off, her annoyance and irritation made purposely crystal clear on her features.

"Prove it."

At first, Edward was profoundly confused. What the....how was he supposed to....he meant, _what did the seemingly innocent girl have in mind?!_ His lacking experience with women was enough to let him know most could be described as "The Devil in Disguise". But no, not _his_ Bella. She had a mind as pure as holy water. Well, at least, he hoped. A human had needs, you know?

"How?"

She smiled at that, pleased to have the upper hand in this.

"You'll figure something out eventually. Until then..." a pause, "...you best stay out of my sights, Cullen." Secretive, seductive words followed by a death threat?! And _he_ was supposed to be the insane one here?! On the other hand, the dark, hidden corners of his mind supplied as he was shoved over to his side of the curtain, _he kind of liked it._

**AN: You want more?! Review!! Or else, God knows when I'm going to update next. Oh, and please tell me what you thought of this chapter. Too OOC? I was thinking in the lines of Bella in Eclipse, when she's determined to seduce Edward? But toning it down a lot.**


	7. Underthings

**Author's Note: **Sorry for not updating in awhile! Really, I am. But will some Edward make you happy? Plus...the newcomer?! Noooooo, not until the next chapter!

I tried using a prompt for once. It was 'underthings'. XD Some bad stuff is going to happen to Bella here.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight or the song "White Houses"

**OOOoooOOOoooOOO**

School is a bitch.

It took only a few milliseconds for Edward Cullen to figure that out. Namely, those in between the alarm's first shrill ring and the moment he opened his eyes. After that particular annoyance was taken care of (which involved a hammer lying around from putting up the damn curtain) he noted loud, off-key singing.

"_It's alright...and I put myself in his hands...but I hold onto secrets...in white houses!_" It rang out as Edward stumbled out of bed and poked his head through the curtain. Sure enough, there was Bella. Dressed up in midnight blue PJs that were decorated with golden stars, hair in disarrange, and chocolate eyes shining. She was in front of the mirror, singing her heart out into a hairbrush. _"Love...or something ignites in my veins. And I pray it never fades...in white houses!"_

Swan was full of surprises, eh?

Edward started clapping his hands slowly, and Bella spun to face him, shocked and furious. If anyone could clap sarcastically, it would be Edward Cullen, she figured.

"Go get ready, Cullen. My morning routine is none of your business." She snapped.

"Oh? So that 'I want you' attitude is gone now?" The mood between them was the same as it had been her first few days. Circling. Challenging. But playful, in a way. A very _weird,_ you'd-have-to-be-mental-to-believe-this kind of way.

"It was never here in the first place."

"Not from _your_ side."

That caused Bella's cheeks to go through a spectrum of about twenty shades of red. Then ensuring she would grab her pillow, throw it at his head, and yell something about him taking his pervertedness and keeping it on **his** side of the curtain.

"Ah, don't worry, Bella. I wouldn't do that." Edward murmered, his eyes softening slightly. It soothed Bella's anger for a two seconds, even if there was some irritation in the back of her head. He had gone through one of his unloved mood swings. "Just leave me alone so I can change." She grumbled, almost _growled._ Yes, my friends, the two-second lapse had ended.

"As you wish, my dear." And with that, his head vanished from view.

Bella let out a loud, frustrated grunt that went something like "UUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!"

"Love you too, Sweety!" Edward rang out in a sing-song manner from the other side of the curtain.

**OOOoooOOOoooOOO**

Unfortunately for the two of them, the door to the room happened to fall on Bella's side.

A groan could be heard from Edward. "Bella!! Hurry!! I'm bored..."

Ah, so he had mood-swinged into an impatient zone. In her opinion, he needed to take a U-turn and park on Charming Avenue, where she could forget all these dressing troubles.

Don't get me wrong, Bella couldn't care less about how she looked. But if she didn't look somewhat presentable, Alice was going to 'fix everything' and they would all end up late.

"Just wait for a few more seconds, I'm still changing!!!!" Getting a white collared shirt and blazer on without ruining Alice's expert curling job from last night...difficult.

"_I'm going to come in!"_ He shouted back. Edward Cullen was not a honest person by a long shot, Bella recalled later. But he followed through this time.

He let out an appreciative whistle at the sight of Bella's..._underthings._

That was when she shrieked.

A very patient (having been waiting for Edward) Alice and Jasper burst into the room, the door slammed against the wall, picture frames fell from tables, and a certain curtain tumbled down. Giving everyone a nice view.

Mortification dawned on Bella, but she was frozen to the spot. Her cheeks burned.

Alice was the only one who leaped into action, grabbing Edward by the ear and dragging him out. Jasper had high-tailed it the moment he saw Bella.

"Sorry!" The pixie said, sounding genuinely apologetic before she slipped out and closed the door gently.

Silence for a few moments.

Then Alice's voice...

"EDWARD CULLEN YOU ARE DEAD AND ETERNALLY DAMNED TO ME!!!!"

**OOOoooOOOoooOOO**

**Author's Note: **Sorry, this was kinda a filler while I work tediously on the next chapter. This particular chapter was short, but I'll make up for that with the action in the next one. Just trust me on that. The next one will have the newcomer and...asking out?!?!

Review, please!


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